Evolving Your Talent Acquisition Strategy for the Millennial Workforce

One-third of all employees in the U.S. are millennials, making them the largest segment of the U.S. workforce. By 2020, that number will rise to 50 percent; and as millennials grow to become half of the workforce, employers will recognize that on the whole, millennials are extremely valuable employees: hard-working, career-oriented, educated, and skilled.

Even as unemployment rises, companies must still focus on hiring top talent and retaining the best performers within their organizations: but the things that millennials look for in an employer are far different from the priorities of previous generations.

Many companies intend to attract and hire millennial talent but continue to rely on outdated hiring strategies, which make them less attractive as potential employers to millennials. Examine your company’s approach to recruiting, to ensure that it will appeal to the best of current and future candidates.

Related Reading: 5 Ways to Improve Your Talent Acquisition Strategy

Talent Acquisition Strategies For The Millennial Workforce

1. Manage Company Reviews and CSR

70 percent of candidates research a potential employer by reading reviews on websites like Indeed, LinkedIn, or Glassdoor. Staying on top of your company’s image on these sites is critical to competing for millennial candidates. This can include activities like managing online reviews, publishing and sharing relevant content, posting open jobs, and posting pictures that demonstrate your company culture.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also a deciding factor for millennials choosing their next employer. According to one study, 76 percent consider a company’s commitment to CSR when deciding where to work, 75 percent would work for a socially responsible organization at a lower salary, and 64 percent would refuse to work for a company that doesn’t have strong CSR commitments.

Ensure that employees and applicants are aware of your company’s efforts toward corporate social responsibility by keeping company social networks and websites up to date.

Learn More: 4 Best Practices for Recruiting Millennials

2. Update Compensation and Benefits

Competitive employee compensation is critical to a cohesive recruiting strategy, so it is important to know how competitive salaries are based on position and location. Additionally, millennials show a deep interest in benefits, not only the standard medical, dental, etc., but benefits that align with their values.

Millennials are deeply concerned with employer-led investment options. According to one survey, 80 percent of millennials expect an employer to offer a retirement savings plan, 91 percent currently contribute to a 401(k) or IRA, and one-fifth of millennial respondents rank retirement savings as their number one financial priority.

One in three also said that an employer-led college savings program, such as a 529 Plan, is an important benefit for employers to offer. Another survey found that 93 percent of millennials would be interested in an employer that offered a signing bonus specifically for paying down student loans, and 92 percent would like their employer to offer a matching program for student loan payments.

In order to attract millennials in your talent acquisition strategy, take a look at your current company benefits and begin discussing ideas to improve for the future growth and happiness of the company.

3. Use Social Media

Millennials are, for good reason, known as the social generation. 14.4 million candidates have used social media to conduct their job search. For 29 percent, social media is their primary job search tool.

By promoting open jobs through social recruiting, businesses can expand their talent acquisition strategy, reaching millennials on their own terms.

4. Access Passive Candidates

A recent survey of over 14,000 professionals from LinkedIn found that 91 percent of millennials are open to hearing about new job opportunities. Moreover, 68% are flattered when a recruiter reaches out to them.

Passive candidates who are not actively engaged in a job search are still interested in hearing about opportunities but are probably not checking job boards and career sites. Reaching out to passive candidates and building relationships with them is a great way to expand your talent acquisition pool.

If possible, prepare for future hires by lining up candidates in advance. To reach passive candidates, you may consider appearing at job fairs, college grad programs, networking events, and building relationships with a staffing agency.

Staffing agencies create and manage a large pool of talented professionals, those that are actively seeking a new job, and those that are passively interested in hearing about available opportunities. Often, these talent pools can be used to improve the quality of candidates, reduce time to hire, and make the recruitment process more efficient.

Millennials are a growing segment of the workforce and are critical to an organization’s talent acquisition strategies. Refining talent acquisition strategies to appeal to millennial job candidates is one of the best ways an HR department can prepare for the future.

Sparks Group is an award-winning staffing and recruiting firm, helping employers save valuable time and resources by streamlining and improving talent acquisition strategy. Our strategic recruitment experts match your organization with top talent and manage the entire talent acquisition process so your team can focus on business success.

Sources:

1. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/
2. http://www.mrinetwork.com/articles/industry-articles/millennial-insights-for-the-2020-labor-market/
3. https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/how-candidates-use-glassdoor/
4. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56b4a7472b8dde3df5b7013f/t/58174ca82994ca5361d910a3/1477921965887/Millennials-Infographic_FINAL.jpg
5. https://www.capitalgroup.com/our-company/news-room/milliennials-demand-more-from-employers-investments.html
6. https://www.themuse.com/advice/job-seekers-social-media-is-even-more-important-than-you-thought
7. https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/hiring-millennials/2018/millennials-arent-sure-they-will-fit-in-at-your-company-here-are-5-ways-to-show-them-they-will